The Vanishing Act
by Rubberducks
Summary: ***Formerly called Surprise!*** The flock always had six members. Nothing more, nothing less. That's how it was supposed to be, right?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Hey I'm kinda new at this but we'll see how it goes. :~) **

**Disclaimer: Of course I'm not JP, so I don't own Maximum Ride.**

Surprise!

No matter what happened to us we would always stay together. The flock had always had six members and it always would. Or that's what I thought.

"Max come on, come on!" I heard someone screaming beside me. "Get UP!"

I rubbed my eyes and rolled over to find Nudge jumping up and down. "What? What is it, Nudge?"

"Just get UP!" Nudge said as she pounced on me.

That snapped me out of it. I sat up and looked around. We had crashed in a cave last night after flying for hours. We were currently on our way to Cape Cod in Massachusetts under the authority of my _beloved_ voice. Why we were heading there, I really don't know.

The cave was small, but big enough for the flock. It looked out over a wide canyon. Beyond the canyon there was endless rolling hills. The sight was pretty breathtaking, but to be honest, when you're starving and you sleep in caves all the time it wasn't anything new.

Nudge and Angel were both in front of me jumping with anticipation. Everyone else was nowhere in sight.

"Uh guys…," I asked, "where is everyone else?" Usually Fang and I were up first and we discussed the day to come. But, none of the boys were anywhere to be seen.

"That's for us to know and you to find out," Angel told me.

"Seriously guys, just tell me what's up."

"Nope," Nudge said. I think that was the shortest thing she's every uttered.

Angel said, "Max just get dressed and come with us.''

Get dressed? Yeah cause an on-the-run mutant kid who sleeps in caves has such a HUGE wardrobe to choose from in the morning. I didn't even have more than one set of clothes right now. "All right, I'm ready," I said with an exasperated sigh.

"Well, first we're gonna have to blindfold you," Nudge said with an evil grin. They were driving me crazy.

Angel pulled a red blindfold from behind her that she had been hiding. The blindfold looked like a scrap from an old t-shirt. Angel inched closer and wrapped the blindfold around my head.

"All right, no peeking! No walk about five feet forward and on three open your wings," Nudge ordered. I walked forward what I guessed was about five feet. I wonder how Iggy does it. They each grabbed one of my hands. Nudge on my right, Angel on my left. I curled my feet over the edge of the cave.

"One…Two…THREE!" I snapped my wings open and felt the familiar rush of wind all over my body. They let go of my hands and Nudge said, "Now just stay close to us and we'll tell you when we're close."

About five minutes later, I couldn't take it anymore. My stomach was growling and reminding me just how hungry I was. And yes, I'll admit that I was a little scared. Yes, the indestructible Maximum Ride was scared of a little surprise. I'm guessing Angel was listening in to my thoughts because she started giggling.

"Come on guys, just give me a little hint," I begged.

"Relax Max. We're almost there," Angel reassured me.

A moment later I smelled something familiar. The scent was some kind of food. Iggy must be around here somewhere. Wherever 'here' was.

I felt Angel and Nudge grab my hands again. "All right, 2 o'clock and about 300 feet down," Nudge said.

We began a fast descent and we hit the ground before I knew it. Beneath my feet I could feel grass and the scent from earlier was much stronger now.

"I'm gonna take the blindfold off now," Nudge said.

"It's about time…," I muttered. Nudge came closer and grabbed hold of the blindfold.

"One, two, three!" I felt the blindfold come off and I looked around. I had to blink a few times.

My mouth dropped and I couldn't believe what was before me.

**I know none of you really feel like reviewing. But seriously, I would really really appreciate it if somebody out there would say something about this and maybe an idea on where I should go with it. So the review button is right there below this so please click on it! ******** thanks-rubberducks**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah..you know I'm not JP.**

Standing before me was the last thing I ever would have expected. Nudge and Angel were still standing by me. But the rest of the flock was gathered around Dr. Martinez and Ella. From behind them I could see something was poking out. What the…

I moved in so closer so I could see them. My mother and my half-sister turned around. And sure enough, they had wings. I've seen plenty of mutants in my life, but I just never expected my _mother_ to join the club. I mean, hadn't I complained enough to her how much my runaway mutant bird kid life sucked? Behind the two of them I could see Jeb smiling away like an idiot. I should have known. Jeb was the only person alive with enough evil in his blood to bring my mother and sister into this horrible, secret world my flock and I were forced to live in. I felt my face twist in anger as I stalked towards the cretin. Someone started pulling on my arm and I yanked them away.

"Max, what are you doing?," I heard Nudge say. I turned to look at her but she actually looked _scared_ when she saw how mad I was. "Max, what's wrong? We thought you'd be happy. See, now they can come with us and Dr Martinez can keep us safe."

What?! Not that I didn't love my mother, but did the flock really think that we needed her help to take care of us? I had been taking care of five kids just fine for years now. I just know that Jeb has something to do with this. I turned back toward him and saw his face. He was still smiling away like this was the greatest thing that's happened to us. I swear, when I lay my hands on that _jerk _ohhh he's gonna get it. I started stalking back towards him again when I felt my arms being pulled together and someone holding me back. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"Fang, let…me…go."

"Nope," he said easily. Leave it to him to keep up with the one-word answers.

"Why not?"

"Because if I let you have your way I'm pretty sure you would pummel Jeb to the ground and we can't have that," Fang said. That was pretty long for Mr. Silent.

Angel came over to us. By now the flock had gathered in our own little circle while Dr. Martinez and Ella looked confused. Jeb finally had realized something was wrong so he looked _slightly_ concerned. Notice the slightly part.

"Max, what's wrong?," Angel looked up at me with her famous puppy dog eyes. "We thought you'd like having your mom and sister with us."

"No sweetie it's fine. I was just a bit startled," I replied.

Fang let go since he knew I wasn't going to kill Jeb….yet. He was the only one who knew I was completely NOT okay with this whole mom and sister with wings prospect. He gave me a look that said we'd talk later. I was trying hard to block my thoughts from Angel so she woudn't find out even though I knew she would eventually. I just didn't want to ruin the moment.

Obviously everyone thought this was a great reason to celebrate so I looked around at my surroundings for once. We were in a big grassy clearing surrounded by trees. It looked pretty secluded. I saw a table full of food and a grill next to it. There was even a cake that had wings made of icing on it. Goodness gracious. It's like Jeb brainwashed everyone. Yeah let's all have a fiesta because two more people have joined that mutant freak world!!! I put on a fake smile and decided to be civil. Ha, Maximum Ride attempting to be civil. Good joke.

I walked over to my mom and Ella. Not knowing me for long, Ella didn't see through my fake smile. Ella jumped on me and made me fall to the ground. She obviously wasn't used to her new superhuman strength.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry Max. This is all so new to me. But isn't this awesome! We can all fly around together and go places and-" I had to clamp my hand over her mouth to shut her up. She was definitely hanging around Nudge a little _too_ much. If you know what I mean.

"Yeah it'll be great," I said. Back to that fake smile.

Even though my mother hadn't been around me until recently she knew something was up. My mom gave me and hug and murmured in my ear, "I'm sorry you're upset. It'll all be fine." I started to say something but she shook her head. We didn't want to ruin this for Ella.

Iggy, spatula in hand, shouted "Let's eat!" And with that everyone merged into a line in front of the table. Everyone but Jeb piled several hamburgers on their plate. Thankfully, Iggy had know to cook enough for a bunch of starving mutants. Once we all didn't have our mouths full, we started talking about what was next.

"Well, the Voice still wants us to go to Cape Cod. And to be honest, I don't have any objections to the idea. I mean, where else do we have to go?" I said to the flock, which now had eight members. I was gonna have to get use to that. I had no choice.

"I'm in," Fang said, always the one to back me up. In the end everyone went with it, especially Ella.

"Oh my gosh you guys this is gonna be so great! We're gonna fly all the way to Massachusetts and-"

I cut her off. "Ella."

"Yes."

"You're starting to turn into Nudge."

"I'm sorry Max."

We all stayed in the clearing for the night and went eventually Jeb left. Where he went, I don't know. But I really don't want to know. He's probably spying on us right now. Even though it had only been one evening, it was just plain _weird_ to have my mom present. I mean it kind of felt like we we're being supervised. I don't know, I'm probably just overreacting.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Dr. Martinez may be a little OOC in this one, but please review to help me out. ;-)**

**Disclaimer: You and I both know I don't own MR.**

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In the morning I was the first one up, followed by my mother. We were both leaning against a tree looking out at the frigid and still morning. We both have just been sitting here without saying a word for quite some time now. She was the first to break the silence.

"So, what exactly is waiting for us in Cape Cod?" she asked.

"Ya know…Im not sure. The Voice doesn't answer any direct questions. It's pretty frustrating," It told her.

"I know you think that Jeb is the Voice but I just don't see how that's possible."

"Mom, look at the world we're living in! I mean, you have _wings_ for crying out loud!" I threw my arms into the air. "Anything's possible."

I moment passed before she spoke again. "Why do you still have so many problems with Jeb?" she asked.

"Mom, I really don't want to get into this…"

She didn't pester me for an answer. She just let it drop. Which, to be honest, kind of surprised me.

She put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Well, no matter what happens, I know you'll make the best decision for the flock…you always do."

The flock was starting to get up so it was time to face whatever today had in store for us. Fang and Iggy were up first. The flock had been sleeping under the shade of the big tree my mother and I we're leaning on. Iggy had saved some food from yesterday so we ate that for breakfast. Ella was ecstatic that she was going to get to fly with us. She was the first one done with breakfast and she was clearly eager to get going. Everyone else was pretty quiet this morning, which was a little odd. Once everyone had finished eating it was time to go.

"All right guys, we're still heading to Cape Cod. So let's get going," I announced to the flock.

"Why are we going there?" Gazzy asked. It was a valid question but even I didn't know the answer. Fang, and of course Angel, knew that I didn't know why either.

"We're going there because the Voice says we need to," I covered smoothly.

Gazzy was about to argue but thankfully Iggy cut him off. "Come on, you heard her. It's time to go," Iggy said. And with that, we were off.

Once we were up in the sky for a little bit, the Voice returned.

_Maximum, you really need to get to Cape Cod as fast as you can._

Oh yeah, what do you think we're doing?! I thought back. I hoped the Voice could detect anger.

_I can. But you need to know that this is nothing to joke about. You need to get here ASAP._

Who's joking?

That was all the Voice said. It just entered and left my head as it wished. How convenient! Being a mutant I could handle, having a Voice that _isn't_ yours in your head, not so much.

We continued to fly for a few hours, but I knew that Ella and my mother must be getting tired since they're not used to these cross-country flights like we are.

"All right, time to land guys," I said.

"Thank goodness," Ella said. Good thing she finally found out that flying isn't all that great after all.

Gazzy and Iggy had been quietly discussing something as we flew. No doubt it was something about explosives. I probably should say something, but I know that they will just deny it anyway.

We began our descent and landed at the end of a gravel road. The place looked pretty deserted so it might not be so easy to find food here. We were at the dead end of the gravel road so we had no choice but to follow it in the other direction. Around the road there were some overgrown bushes and foliage. On the left side of the road there was a house that looked like it hadn't had anyone in it for decades.

"Uh Max, I don't think we're gonna find food anywhere around here," Nudge told me.

"We just have to follow this road. It's gotta end up somewhere," I said.

"Yeah I guess," she said and walked over to Ella. We all started walking down the road. My mom hadn't said anything since breakfast. She was just going along with anything I said. After a few minutes, Fang came over to my side.

"So, this is different," he said.

"You mean having my _mother_ fly for hundreds of miles in the air with us on our way to face no doubt some huge battle where one of us will get hurt and maybe even killed?" I said sarcastically. Thankfully, we were out of earshot.

He let out a tiny, short grin that surprised me. Since when was Mr. Emotion-Less smiling? "Have you heard anything else from the Voice?" he asked.

"Jeb or whoever or whatever it is wants us in Cape Cod ASAP. But how important can it be? They probably just want to kill us. So, the faster we get there the faster we'll die?" I said.

"Why rush?" he said. I coudn't agree more.

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**Once again, reviews would be stellar :~D and probably determine if I continue this one.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Of course I don't own MR. **

We continued to follow the road and we eventually came to a populated area. Gazzy fell on the ground and dramatically threw his hands into the air.

"Civilization!" he shouted, "At last!" Everyone rolled their eyes and shook their heads. Even my mother managed a smile. Hey, you gotta love an eight year old's imagination.

The gravel road turned into a paved road and there were small buildings about. Everything looked kind of old, but atleast there were people here.

"Tell me if you see anywhere to get food," I said. We continued down the road and looked at the buildings. There was a post office, a barber shop, and various antique stores. Nothing that offered any chow. I was leading the way so I looked back at the flock. They all were looking intently at the buildings. Fang was determining how safe this place was. I counted heads and stopped. Everyone saw that I stopped so they did too.

"What is it Max?" Nudge asked as she tilted her head to one side.

I recounted. There were only six, plus me.

Someone was missing.

**A/N: Short cliffy ;D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I'm not JP.**

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I recounted.

There were still only six bird mutants, plus me. Gazzy, Fang, Angel, Nudge, Iggy, and my mother. Ella. Ella was gone. I didn't have a clue where she was. But, being the leader that I was, I had to act calm and collected even if I was screaming on the inside.

"Hey, uh, guys," I asked calmly, "Does anyone know where Ella is?" Everyone looked around as if they didn't believe she was gone. No one said anything as we all entered our various levels of stress. My mother, of course, went into her no-nonsense mode.

"Seriously, does anyone know where she went?" she asked. "Did she say anything like, '_I'll be right back…or I'll catch up later'_'?" The flock looked at Dr. Martinez and shook their heads. It was a bit weird having an adult trying to handle our little mishaps like this that seemed to occur daily.

"Um, we should probably look around for her before she gets too far, wherever she is," I said. I was eager to get on our way so that the voice wouldn't have a chance to bother me.

The flock nodded in agreement and we began our search. Fang and I scanned the area with our eyes while flying. Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel searched the surrounding forest on the ground. And Iggy used his super hearing to see if he could hear her while we all called out her name.

And then there was my mother-my beloved mother who I wouldn't trade for anyone else. She was a bit stressed, to say the least. But, she was trying to help. She assisted the younger kids on the ground.

After a few hours, I was starting to feel a little helpless. Fang and I had been in the air the whole time and I'm sure the rest of the flock was getting a bit tired too. I mean, there wasn't much else we could do. I wanted to find Ella just as much as my mother did, but we really needed to get back on track. Plus, it was getting dark already. I looked over at Fang and he nodded. He had become a little restless too. We landed near the rest of the search party. We were in a small clearing enclosed by tall trees so it was even darker down on the ground.

When the flock saw us land, they stopped searching and we all stood in a circle. My mother's eyes made her look like she had been crying all day. She probably had been.

"I think it's time we called it a day you guys. Let's find some food and get some rest," I said. Everyone looked a relieved except for my mother. She started to talk but I cut her off. I know, surprising, right? Since when did I ever have manners?

"We're not giving up yet, we're just gonna have a little break," I told her.

My mom took the younger kids into town to bring back food while Fang, Iggy, and I set up camp. Iggy and Fang made a fire and I set up the few belongings that we had. This didn't take long so were finished pretty quick. The three of us sat on the cold, forest floor and discussed what we we're going to do.

"What if we never find her?" Iggy asked. You could hear a bit of sadness in his voice.

"I hate to say this, but I really don't know. I mean, what are we supposed to do?" I asked them. I had meant it as a rhetorical question, but of course, Iggy had to be a smart-allic.

"Well, you're the leader. You are _the_ Maximum Ride. How come you don't have an answer, huh?" I shot him a look, but as usual, it was wasted on him.

"I think we should look for her some more till about midday, but broaden our area so we'll cover more ground. Then, I guess we should take off.," I said. I hate giving up, but I'm really unsure on what to do. When Angel had been kidnapped, it seemed like I instantly had had a plan, but everything was so much more complicated now.

Fang finally spoke up. "Sounds good," he said. Would it really kill him to say more than one or two words?

Iggy sighed."Whatever…," he said then suddenly stood up. "Why are you giving up so quickly?!" he demanded.

"Ig, you know that I'm doing the best I can I just-," I started but was cut off by Iggy.

"Shh," he said, "They're back." Heaven forbid, the flock sees that we don't have it under control for one second.I couldn't believe he was doing this. Yeah, this was just what I needed-Iggy angry at me for something I couldn't help.

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**A/N: Okay…maybe a bit OOC, but I wanted Iggy to be included in the decisions that Max and Fang always make. Because he never is. And of course, please review so I can make this story better, because I really don't think it's going too well.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: You know I don't own MR.**

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I had the first watch that night. I sat there for a few hours staring out into the darkness listening for anything unusual, or maybe even Ella's return. I still couldn't believe that she was gone. It seemed like she was just here one moment and then gone the next. And nobody has a clue what happened to her. Did she run away? Did the School kidnap her? If they did, why did they choose her? What if I never saw her again? Nothing was clear anymore.

When my watch was over I went over to Fang and tapped him on the shoulder. He woke up silently and stood up. I started to walk over to where I would sleep but he grabbed my shoulder. He gave me a glance and I knew he wanted to talk. We walked without a sound to a nearby tree and leaned against it. We still had a clear view of the sleeping flock.

"Is it time to move on?" I asked quietly.

"I think so," he whispered.

"Well, where else are we supposed to look? Do you think she's at the School?"

A moment passed as we both pondered the possibilities. "Maybe," he said. "I hate to say this, but I think they took her because she wasn't meant to be one of us. I think Jeb created Ella and Dr. Martinez without the rest of the whitecoats knowing."

"How would they not know?" I wondered. "I really don't think it's an easy process to turn regular old humans into genetic hybrids."

"Maybe Jeb is manipulating them. Maybe you're not the only one with a Voice."

I hate to say it, but the boy made a good point.

"Huh, I had never thought about that," I said. "I always thought that I was the only one."

"Well maybe if you weren't so selfish you'd think about someone other than yourself," he said with a smirk.

I shoved him and we continued to discuss the issue at hand. We both agreed that there was a reason that they took Ella, and only Ella. There also had to be a reason of why they didn't try to fight us as usual when they took her. I eventually went back to sleep and before I knew it, the sun was up and it was time for a new day.

I stretched and sat up. Iggy was the only other one up, since he had the third watch. Iggy could hear that I was up so he woke Gazzy and Fang. I got Angel and Nudge awake.

For a minute, I had no idea anything was wrong. I was so used to having there be just the six of us, that it took a moment for me to be aware of what had happened. My mother. She was gone. That makes two members of the flock gone in 24 hours, folks. This was really making me mad. I finally find blood relatives of mine and they just take them away. Just like that. I'm tired of the School controlling _my_ life, _I_ want to be in control. Wow, how's that for emotional. But it was time to get back to reality. Once we had all been awoken by this new horrifying fact, it was time to figure all of this out.

"Did you hear anything during your watch?" I had asked Fang. He shook his head. He had heard just as much as I did.

"Iggy?"

"Do you really think that I would have left you in your beauty sleep if I heard your mother being _KIDNAPPED?!_" He said. My gosh, what had gotten into him lately?

"We're all having a hard time dealing with this," I mumbled. I was afraid to say too much or I'd burst out into tears in front of the whole flock and I certainly didn't need that.

"So, she was kidnapped so silently that even the kid with the best hearing in the world didn't hear," Fang tried to reason.

"Maybe they didn't kidnap either of them, maybe they both ran away," Gazzy said.

"Why would they run away?" Nudge asked. I was coming closer and closer to tears.

"Well, sometimes it just gets hard, you know…Being on the run and always worrying if we're gonna see another day or not. We don't have house and we never have food…" Gazzy said. My little trooper was breaking down. This was just too much.

I had to get out of here.

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	7. Chapter 7

**Yeah, this story used to be called Surprise! Sorry for any confusion. I just thought that the new title fit a lot better. :)**

**Disclaimer: No I'm not JP, but I bet you already knew that.**

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And with that I just took off. I leaped into the air and opened my wings. I heard the kids asking Fang if they should go after me and I could barely hear him say no. But, none of that mattered. I was getting out of there. I was escaping reality for a moment. Leave it to me to be the weak leader and run away when my flock needed me the most. But, by now the tears were streaming out of my eyes. I couldn't go back there like this. I just had to take a moment and calm myself down. I was flying really high and there was a small, rocky cliff nearby. I landed and leaned against the back of the cliff. I wrapped my arms around my knees and cried my eyes out for I don't know how long. Somewhere in the midst of my crying fest, I heard someone land on the ledge and kneel down next to me. I didn't have to look up to see who it was. He put his arm around my shoulders and I tried to pull myself back together. God, this was embarrassing.

I pulled Fang's arms off of me and leaned back against the cliff. We both sat there looking out over the canyon for a moment. I wiped my eyes and tried to act like none of that had happened.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "I just don't get it."

"Get what?"

"Why would they take my _mother_? What had she ever done to the School?"

"Maybe it's not the School this time." He said. "Maybe somebody else is messing with us."

"Who else is coldhearted enough to steal parents from their own children?" I asked as a shiver ran down my spine.

"I dunno…maybe we're dealing with some kind of supernatural force here," he said.

I stared at him like he had grown another head.

"Like….aliens?" I asked skeptically.

"Maybe. Just something out there that we don't know about. I mean, if you weren't a mutant, would you believe people like us existed?" He asked.

"Probably not," I answered honestly. A long silence followed and I stood up. He did too.

"And it's okay to break down once in awhile. It happens to the best of us," he said with a smile.

I didn't really know what to say to that so I just lightly pushed him off the ledge. I jumped off shortly afterwards. I glanced at him and realized that he was losing altitude fast. That and he didn't even have his wings open! How come he hadn't opened his wings yet?!

"FANG!!!" I called as I swooped in to rescue him. The canyon was only about 600 feet deep so I had to act fast. He was falling with his back towards the ground and he looked pretty lifeless. His eyes were closed and his wings were definitely still not out. I had caught up with him pretty fast and I reached my arms out to grab him. I had planned to swoop in and grab him and turn upwards fast so we didn't hit the ground. But as soon as I reached out for him, he vanished. Vanished. Just like that. He was there one second and gone the next. I looked at the ground to make sure he hadn't already landed and he wasn't there. He wasn't in the air or on the cliff, or anywhere. I landed on the ground and backed up to the huge canyon walls. I curled up in a ball once again, and this time, I really let the tears flow.

It was like déjà vu. A minute ago, I was leaning against the canyon mourning my mother and sister and Fang was comforting me. Now, he was gone too. And I had no idea if I was ever going to see him again. God, why him? When I needed him the most? I mean, yeah, I loved the rest of the flock too, but he really was my best friend. I needed him more than anyone. We was my one constant. He was always, always there for me. The worst part is not knowing. I have no idea where my mom, sister, and best friend were. I didn't know if they were dead or if this was all just a test like Jeb had always said my life was. And how did he just vanish? What kind of crap do they have going on at the School that makes people literally vanish into thin air? But, maybe he was right. Even though I highly doubt it, maybe the School isn't involved. There was only one way to find out.

I had to get to Cape Cod. I knew that the Voice was connected with the School, and the Voice wanted me to go to Cape Cod. So, hopefully, when we got there I'd finally get some answers, whether it killed me or not. I stood up and headed back to the rest of the flock. I had to be strong for them.

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**A/N: So what do you think? Please review and tell me! :D **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't own MR.**

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When I had gotten back to the camp, I couldn't even look into the flock's eyes. I could feel Angel reading my mind and I heard her gasp when she found out about Fang.

_Do you want me to tell them?_ She asked me in my head. I nodded in her direction. She knew I wouldn't be able to talk when I was like this. I heard her whispering in low tones to the rest of the flock as she broke the news. And those that weren't already crying from the absence of the two newest members of the flock were definitely crying now. Fang….Fang was different. He _had _been part of us forever. I had been counting on the two of us to try and figure out why my mother and Ella were missing. But, that was all gone now. What if the rest of my flock disappeared? For the first time since I had returned, I looked up into the eyes of four terrifyingly scared kids. For once, they weren't just freak genetic-mutants, they were kids. Who had every right in the word to be scared right now. And I could tell…

They knew.

They knew that one of them was next.

But who?

To be honest, I didn't even want to know. What if it was me? I'd rather it be me than one of them. But, then they wouldn't have a leader. Could they handle that?

I could hear Gazzy crying his eyes out and I motioned for him to come here. The Gasman staggered his way over to me. He was always trying to be so tough, and for once, he was just being an eight-year-old kid. I reached out to him and he eagerly opened his arms. We just stood there hugging for a few minutes. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Iggy comforting Nudge and Angel.

The Gasman abruptly let go of me and looked up into my eyes. It was easy to see that he was embarrassed, but he had no reason to be.

"I…I'm sorry Max…I just.." He started but I cut him off.

"Shh," I whispered to him and messed up his hair. He anxiously brushed away his tears as he walked over to a nearby rock and sat down. I sank to the ground and leaned up against a tree trunk. I wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my head on my knees.

Once everyone had calmed down a bit, Iggy broke the silence.

He clapped his hands together and enthusiastically said, "Who's up for some dinner?" He was grinning. I knew he was just trying to cheer us up, but I wasn't ready to be happy again. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. It was like everything was going to be just oh-so-perfect once we all had some food in our bellies. It was a bit irritating to say the least. I'd let everyone else attempt to recover, because I knew I never would until I found Fang

_Max?_ Angel asked me inside me head.

_Yes, sweetie?_

_Iggy is only trying to help_, she said.

_I know. Everything's fine, you don't have to worry_, I said.

_You can stop trying to hide it Max._

_Hide what?_

_Everything is not okay,_ she said, _Stop trying to hide it_. And with that, she left my head. Since when had she been concerned about me? Yeah this is really what I need, a six-year-old questioning my judgment.

* * *

**A/N: Kinda short. But all of my chapters are pretty short. Tell me whether you want them longer or if you have any suggestions on where this should go. Because, to be honest, I am still deciding on what's gonna happen.**


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